U.S. Implements New Travel Bans for 19 Countries

President Trump on Wednesday announced a new series of travel bans for the nationals of 19 countries. He stated that the travel bans are necessary to protect national security in the interest of protecting the United States from allowing people to enter the country without a sufficient amount of background checks and investigations.

Full Bans: 12 Countries Affected

Full bans for persons from twelve countries, which include Iran, Libya, and Yemen have been created so that no national from these locations may be admitted to the United States as neither immigrants nor as visitors.

Partial Bans: 7 Countries with Conditions

Seven countries, which include Cuba, Venezuela, and Laos will experience a partial ban. Persons from these countries may still travel to the United States, but only under certain conditions.

Key Exceptions to the Rule

The rule affects persons who are currently located outside the United States, who do not hold valid visas. However, there are exceptions. Individuals who are U.S. citizens, permanent legal residents of the U.S., hold dual citizenship, are adopted children of U.S. citizens, and those who hold special immigrant visas may be allowed to enter the United States. Athletes, and other special cases will likely be allowed in.

White House Justification: Safety First

The White House has stated that the action will keep Americans safe against threats posed by foreign countries. A spokesperson for the executive branch reported that this specific rule is aimed specifically at countries that willfully don't provide relevant national security information or have percentages of nationals who overstay their visas at a high rate.

A Project for Now and the Future

President Trump began this project for countries in the immediate year of his administration when he ordered a review of these identified countries. The rule defined in this document relies on the substance of their review; in addition, following the mentioned procedure would be a commitment to annually review each country to see if the rule needs to be reviewed or have updates applied.

Praise and Condemnation: The Rule's Reception

The rule has drawn both praise and condemnation. Supporters of the rule have suggested that it should be based on safety. Detractors of the rule have suggested that it will affect individuals who could be innocent who wish to travel or live in the United States.

Either way, it shows the extent to which Trump is taking his word seriously about wanting to tighten the immigration rules.